Going Turbo
by TeamChaosPrez
Summary: "Look, you wouldn't understand. You don't know what it's like to be the apple of every player's eye for years and then suddenly be kicked to the curb. You don't know how desperate it makes you. And then, as soon as you make some stupid, childish mistake, everybody treats you like you're a criminal, and you become an outcast."
1. Chapter One: Alive

It was a peaceful day in the game of Sugar Rush. Vanellope von Schweetz had been president for four years, and was planning to run for reelection. Sgt. Calhoun and Fix-It Felix, Jr. were still happily married. Wreck-It Ralph was doing well, being treated fairly by every citizen of Litwack's Arcade.

Diet Cola Mountain hadn't been touched since the defeat of Sugar Rush's former tyrant. All was well in the little world of Litwack's.

Diet Cola Mountain was silent, as usual. However, a small pile of rubblized Mentos began to move on the surface. It began to move more and more until a gloved hand accompanied by a red-and-white sleeve popped free of the rubble. It was closely followed by a gray face and a red-and-white helmet adorned with a T.

He blinked his yellow eyes and looked around quickly, not recognizing his surroundings until he remembered what had happened.

He let out an angry growl and forced himself free of the ruined Mentos. His skintight suit matched his helmet, and he wore white boots.

He looked down at himself. "Well, at least I don't have to look like that ridiculous king anymore." he sighed in defeat, looking around at the boiling hot diet Coca-Cola and the precariously hanging mints.

_This was that little glitch's hideout._ he remembered, looking around in wonder. Where could she be now . . . ah, yes, she was the 'rightful' ruler of this game. She'd be in the castle. Or with the other racers.

"Closing time in ten minutes." a female voice echoed into the mountain from an unknown source.

"Turbo-tastic." he chuckled darkly, and sat on a ledge to await the time when he would assess the damage done to his hard work.

_A/N: Hey guys, welcome to Going Turbo! Honestly, even I don't know where I'm going with this one. I have nothing planned out. THAT'S WHY I LIKE THIS ONE! I'm not a big fan of length, so I apologize if this turns out to be too short for you guys. This story updates faster the more reviews it receives, so make sure to leave me compliments and/or constructive criticism._


	2. Chapter Two

The second Yuni Verse announced the arcade's closing, he was out of that mountain. He'd learned the exit from watching some random NPCs come and go, so he was not _clueless._

"Wait up, Kid!" someone shouted, and he immediately hid behind a candy cane tree. After a moment, he recognized the voice. ___It's that halitosis-riddled warthog!_

After less than a second, a raven-haired girl with candy in her hair and candy-themed clothes ran by, closely followed by Wreck-it Ralph. ___Vanellope von Schweetz. But why isn't she wearing her princess outfit? Isn't that sort of a requirement?_

Several moments later, Sour Bill darted after them. "Please wait for me, Princess . . ."

The reply came almost immediately, and it looked like Sour Bill hadn't even gotten to finish his sentence. "IT'S PRESIDENT, and I don't need you to follow me everywhere!" Vanellope crowed, sounding like she was fairly far away.

Sour Bill sighed in defeat and stopped running just a couple yards away from him. Almost immediately, he was seized.

"Listen up, Sour Bill," he declared to the startled gumdrop, his light lisp barely defined. "You're going to tell me everything that's happened while I was gone."

All Sour Bill could do was stutter. "T-T-T-T..."

"Turbo." he finished for him with an eye roll. "Yes, I'm Turbo."

"But you're d-dead!" Sour Bill's monotone was replaced by an extremely scared tone.

"Dead? I still was in the code before it was reset. I had time to regenerate." Turbo rolled his eyes again. "Now, what's been happening?"

"W-w-well, it started when Vanellope crossed the finish line . . ."


	3. Chapter Three

_A/N: Sweet, this story's being followed. Whoever you are, I like you. Anyway, I have slight writer's block but it looks like I'm being expected to continue anyways.** I update faster with more reviews, so get reviewing! **Also, as for the name "Turbomobile," I couldn't think of anything more creative._

Turbo hid behind the abandoned royal kart in front of the castle by about twenty yards. He glared at its looming "salmon"-colored form with a scowl set into his face. _The game's been reset, all right,_ he thought to himself, _Even the Turbomobile's gone. I could've sworn I'd stowed it away halfway between Candy Castle and Diet Cola Mountain . . ._ he thought, longing for his signature white-and-red kart.

When he heard footsteps coming nearer, Turbo automatically ducked under the kart – he wouldn't be seen unless someone bent down to study underneath it, but if it was started up he was a goner. _My code was probably torn out of the game when it reset._ Turbo realized, now remembering that if he dies outside his game he can't regenerate.

_I'm doomed._

"Oh my land, the arcade opens in ten minutes!" a voice Turbo recognized as that of Fix-It Felix, Jr. announced as four people passed him.

"We'd best get back to our games soon, then," a woman he didn't recognize replied. "We don't want to accidentally go Turbo."

Turbo involuntarily flinched a little bit when the term in his 'honor' was used. _Maybe invading RoadBlasters wasn't the best decision in the world._ He finally realized. _Hell, who am I kidding? It was the _worst_ decision in the world._ He scolded himself. _I lost TurboTime and the twins... that was never my intent._

But it was too late for those regrets now. _What's done is done._ As soon as the four – he'd pieced together that the other two characters were Wreck-It Ralph and Vanellope von Schweetz – had gone their separate ways to take their places in their original games, Turbo was off like a shot towards the castle. He was going to reinsert his code as King Candy – they couldn't undo the unused character skin, after all. That was bound to still be in there.

He entered the room of blue tubes that led to the old GameBoy device.

_Up, up, down, down, right, left, right, left, B, A, Start._

However, as soon as the way to the code was cleared and the licorice was tied around his waste and to a wall, another pang of regret hit Turbo. _What am I doing?! Is this really right?!_

He shook the feeling off. _You know what, it doesn't matter._

Turbo dove into the codes, but as soon as he was in, there was a voice full of shock and panic that stopped him. "Turbo!"

With a roll of his eyes, glowing in the lack of light, he turned to face the source – Vanellope von Schweetz. "You're not going to stop me this time, kid." he growled.

She pulled him back with the licorice rope, making him mentally facepalm. _Of course she can, you idiot._

"Why?" Vanellope simply asked when Turbo was back to the blue-tubed hallway.

Turbo didn't want to tell her the actual answer – how he was desperate to keep being a popular part of the arcade. "Why not?" he simply replied. "You tried to kill me." At the reminder of the beacon, his skin began to burn all over. _It's all in your head, Turbo, calm down! _He demanded himself, not willing to lose his cool around a nine-year-old.

"Come with me." she demanded, and though Turbo had a choice in the matter, he followed Vanellope out of the hallway.


	4. Chapter Four

"Why did you take over Sugar Rush in the first place, Turbo?" Vanellope did not look accusing. The look in her hazel eyes only betrayed curiosity, a light level of fear, and a willingness to understand. This, which would have made most other characters more comfortable, just made Turbo squirm. Everyone else he had met before coming to Sugar Rush, and that was just a few as is, had always looked at him and spoken to him like he was some sort of criminal. That was why he'd been laying low for thirty years.

"Look, you wouldn't understand. You don't know what it's like to be the apple of every player's eye for years and then suddenly be kicked to the curb. You don't know how _desperate_ it makes you. And then, as soon as you make some stupid, childish mistake, everybody treats you like you're a criminal, and you become an outcast. It felt like the best chance I had was to start over as another character."

"You know, you always could've just asked."

Turbo stared at her uncomprehendingly, so Vanellope just took a deep breath and started to explain again. "You didn't have to take over the game, make me a glitch, lock away all our memories. You could've just asked if you needed a job or a place to stay. I woulda brought you in."

He blinked a couple of times before speaking in a more bitter, accusing tone. "You're only saying that because now you know the consequences, _President._"

Vanellope shook her head like Turbo was the most naive person she knew, which infuriated him. This child had no idea. "Look, Helmet Head . . ." his scowl deepened when he heard her newfangled nickname for him. "Other characters might be like that but I never have been. You should've just asked for a job and a place to stay."

This was quite the insight for Turbo. _Why didn't I ever think of that_? he asked himself. _Because you're used to rejection._ he answered himself without really thinking about it. After a moment, he realized that he was right.

_Whatever._

"How about you stay in the castle a couple of days? Maybe your reputation can still be salvaged if we show you to other players one at a time . . ."

_Yeah right._

". . . And maybe after a while we can program you into Sugar Rush and you can be an actual racer again. . ."

_Not without completely altering my appearance so I fit in._

". . . But you'll have to earn a lot of trust first."

_Oh, this is completely hopeless._ Instead of actually voicing his literal opinion, however, he simply replied with "Sure, kid, whatever you say."

Vanellope smiled and glitched into her standing position. "Well, I'd better get going in case a player unlocks a bonus level. See you after hours, Helmet Head!" she glitched and vanished.

_I'm going to gain her trust and then reprogram the game again. _Turbo plotted to himself silently. _There's no way anything is going to stop me this time. _


	5. Chapter Five

_A/N: I'm so sorry if this chapter does not reach up to standards! I'm using this fanfiction as something to calm me down during panic attacks, so they can be kinda rushed and go on and on and on and on._

Turbo was reminded of exactly why he was miserable about half the time he was the leader of Sugar Rush when he sat in the Fungeon after arcade hours. Everyone else in the castle . . . possibly everyone else in the arcade . . . was asleep, yet Turbo was unable to. Why? The never-setting lemon sun in the sky was shining directly in his face. Not to mention the smell of candy was starting to drive him crazy.

_Why this game, out of all of them? Why not something more generic like MarioKart? _He silently raged at his past decision as he tried – and failed – to fall asleep with the light shining in his eyes.

_Screw it!_ Turbo finally sighed and sat back up. _How far from TurboTastic can one possibly get? I think this might be it._ After a moment of serious consideration, however, he had to admit to himself, _Trying to make my way out of RoadBlasters was pretty bad too. And then finding out the twins didn't make it . . . wait, I'm not supposed to care about the twins._

Turbo was being held in the cell he'd had specially created for Vanellope von Schweetz, though he wasn't wearing the shackle – the locks were enough to hold him in, it was assumed. He looked around glumly at the many clown pictures hanging around the graham cracker walls. _If I never regretted anything, I regret hanging up those damn posters. They're more creepy than me._ It didn't help much that Turbo had a slight – **slight –** fear of the big-footed creatures. _What do they eat, souls? Is that the reasoning behind those red lips? Oh my code . . ._

He willed himself to shut up, but it was too late – his imagination had already gotten the better of him. Everywhere he looked, he saw a damn clown! _Humiliation and fear. How wonderful._

Not only that, but he'd given himself a good case of insomnia with his thoughts of soul-sucking clowns. "Turbo-Freaking-Tastic." he grumbled to himself.

He considered just eating his way out, but the idea alone gave him a stomachache.

_How long am I going to be stuck here again?_

"Just until I find somebody you were friends with before you got your game unplugged, Helmet Head." he imitated Vanellope in a shrill voice that sounded nothing like her voice. "Yeah, right. I didn't have any friends besides maybe the twins, and they're gone . . ." Turbo grumbled.

He had always been a self-centered jerk with an ego the size of Alaska, not that he'd ever admit it. He'd been programmed to be the greatest racer ever, after all. So he'd been unlikable at the best of times, from the day after TurboTime was plugged in to most likely the present day. A precious few arcadians were willing to be friendly with him, most of which were almost surely unplugged by now. The exceptions to this were Tapper and . . .

"Oh my land, it really _is_ him!"

. . . Fix-It Felix, Jr. Who probably hated him now, since he'd tried to kill two of his best friends – one of which was his bad guy and practically his brother.

"Hello, Felix." Turbo attempted his signature winning grin, but it only came off as a grimace.

Felix stood there awkwardly, trying to gather what to say in his head. Evidently, he decided on small talk. "So . . . how have you been, neighbor?" he gave a smile that hinted that he'd rather not be in Turbo's presence.

"Oh, you know. Got third-degree burns, thanks to your wrecker. Was in a coma in the volcano for . . ." Turbo paused. "How long ago was that?"

"Three months."

"Ah, then three months. Oh, and I'm locked in a dungeon with nothing to do and absolutely no sleep possible."

"Sorry about that." Felix's tone suggested that he wasn't sorry in the slightest.

"Whatever." Turbo groaned.

"Remember back before RoadBlasters was plugged in?" Felix was desperate to keep a conversation going now, probably because if he didn't Vanellope would have his head on a platter. "How you and the twins would cause all sorts of drunken trouble at Tappers?"

This drudged up an involuntary smirk from Turbo. "Oh yeah. We'd have way too many root beers every Sunday and hardly be able to drive on Monday. Heck, you'd have to use your hammer on our heads a few times."

Felix chuckled. "I couldn't fix that one nasty concussion you got in Mario Kart, though. That was it as far as game-jumping goes for you."

"Not quite." Turbo mumbled quietly. "So, how've you been, old friend?"

Felix visibly winced when Turbo uttered the word 'friend.' "Oh, you know. Fixin' stuff. Got married to one dynamite gal."

_Felix is married?! You know what, it doesn't matter._

Turbo was able to tune out Felix's chattering until he said something that caught his attention. "Sorry, could you repeat that?"

"I said, someone thinks they saw the twins in Game Central Station a few weeks ago."


	6. Chapter Six

"Are you serious?!"

Vanellope smiled at him in a way that was meant to look apologetic but only came across as smug and self-satisfied. "Sorry, Helmet Head, ya haven't gotten me to trust you yet."

Anger was quickly replaced by desperation. "I've been here for a _freaking_ month and I haven't done anything wrong, nor do I plan to, so why won't you let me go to Game Central Station and see if the rumors are true?!"

"Sorry, Turbs, but it's easier to forgive than forget." her tone announced way too obviously that she was not sorry at all.

"How long am I going to be forced to deal with this insufferable candy-coated wasteland, anyway?" Turbo finally asked in defeat.

"Just for calling my game insufferable and a wasteland, you get fifteen years added to your sentence."

Turbo's jaw dropped. "_Fifteen years?!_"

"Well, that's how long _I_ was unable to leave the game. Why not you? Give you a taste of your own medicine."

Turbo groaned and put a hand over his face. Never before had he regretted treating Vanellope so badly . . . heck, she'd proven she _deserved_ it once or twice.

"But if you want, I can send someone to look for the twins for you."

He looked at her hopefully.

"But only if you prove you won't try to take over again."

_Well, I am a pretty good liar,_ he felt bad for what he was about to do for some reason. For some reason, he felt guilty that he was about to betray the blind trust of the girl that had saved his life even though he didn't deserve it.

But there was no way he was giving up his plan, no matter how badly he wanted to see the twins. He could never agree to this truthfully.

"All right, kid." he held out a hand.

Vanellope shook it with a huge smile, only making Turbo feel worse. _Stop it, Turbo. She doesn't matter. Just another casualty._

He was able to drown the guilt . . . for now.


	7. Chapter Seven

_Keep your temper under control. Keep your temper under control. Keep your temper under control. Keep your temper-_

"Hey, Helmet Head!"

Turbo's eye twitched involuntarily when he heard the familiar voice call out the nickname he hated so much. It seemed the more time he spent stuck with Vanellope in the von Schweetz castle, the more he hated her. And Sugar Rush. And himself. And pretty much everything.

"Yes, Vanellope?" he responded, settling for fantasizing about snapping her cute little neck and burying her under Diet Cola Mountain and -

"Can you try to be a little bit nicer to Sour Bill? Other than that, you're doing pretty good!"

Turbo bit back the temptation to tell Vanellope _exactly why_ he had been treating Bill with less of the niceness he was showing Vanellope and her friends, and instead just nodded and put on a fake smile. "Sorry, kid."

"It's okay. You're gettin' there."

_I'd better be,_ Turbo answered silently in his head. _I want to see Jet and Set, but this kid's working me to breaking point . . ._

He didn't notice when she'd left until he finally looked up from the dark glare he held at the floor and realized he was completely alone.

_That's a new one._

He couldn't remember being alone at all in the last fifteen years aside from his coma and awakening . . . as King Candy, something was always begging for his attention, and now he apparently needed constant supervision.

_Maybe she's actually trying to trust me._

And then, a thought that surprised him. _I should try harder._

"What did I just think?!" he muttered to himself. _I don't have to try harder if I'm just gonna turn tail as soon as this is done!_

But nothing could stop the want for this little girl to trust him . . . not just so he could break out. But so that he could have a friend, too.

_You're losing it, Turbs._ he scolded himself as he headed towards the fungeon.


	8. Chapter 8

_(A/N: I do not own Norma Terumi. She is the love interest of my Turbo page on Facebook, and she requested that I write her in. I believe she is a Naruto OC or something like that.)_

"I can't believe we came out of hiding just to face the fact that Turbo's dead." the tall, lean racer clad in blue leaned against a wall with a look of utter dejection on his face.

"It's not guaranteed." replied his identical twin. "Set, we don't know for sure . . ."

Set glared at his brother. "Jet, what are his odds of surviving a shower in boiling Diet Coke?" he snapped, making the other cringe.

"It depends on how fast the game was reset." Jet answered somewhat quietly, his voice full of childish hope. "He mighta had time to regenerate."

Set stifled the urge to roll his eyes. "Be realistic, Jet."

His brother sighed. "I am being realistic. It's a total possibility."

"No, it's not . . . the universe doesn't work like that!" Set wasn't meaning to get mad, but he couldn't really help it. He had talked his twin into coming out of hiding in the hopes of seeing their older brother again, but now it seemed like an unlikely and childish dream.

"It does sometimes." Jet argued, knowing full well that he was on the losing end but unable to give up the hope.

They both just gave up arguing and sat on the floor of Game Central Station with a great sigh. Neither really wanted to give up their argument, but neither wanted to hurt the other's ego too much by winning the argument.

Neither noticed when a tallish brunette approached them. "Hi, I'm Norma Terumi." she introduced herself with a small smile. "It's my first time in GCS and . . . I'm kind of lost."

Jet was the first to answer. "Well, what do you need to find?" he asked glumly.

"_Sugar Rush Speedway._ I'm supposed to do a favor for the leader of that game."

"It's on the other side of GCS. By the _Whack-A-Mole._" Set pointed in the direction.

"Thanks." Norma smiled and was on her way.

* * *

"I assume you're Vanellope von Schweetz."

Vanellope nodded. "And you're Norma from the new _Naruto_ game?"

"Yep, that's me."

Vanellope studied her for a moment before nodding and glitching into a standing position, trying to look official. Norma couldn't help but wonder how such a little kid with a glitch could possibly be in charge of an entire world.

"Well, I need you to do me a favor. Y'see, I have a student, and his brothers may or may not still be alive. They're kinda tall and skinny, wear blue, gray skin, yellow eyes and teeth . . . kinda like zombies!"

Norma blinked. "Twins?" she asked, hoping that the boys she'd seen were the ones that fit the description.

"Yeah!" Vanellope grinned widely.

"Oh, I saw 'em earlier. They're on the other side of Game Central Station. Moping by _Street Fighters_."

Vanellope clapped her hands excitedly and used her glitch to teleport randomly around the room, looking like a kid that lived off of sugar . . . which she probably did, anyway. "Awesome! Thank you!"

"Want me to get them for you?"

"That'd be great!" Vanellope couldn't wipe the grin off her face. "But make sure they come around _after_ arcade hours, 'cause we're about to open."

Norma nodded. "Gotcha." She left with a quiet smirk as Vanellope jumped up and down excitedly.


End file.
